Refrigerating apparatus



June 15, 1943. uc 2,321,688

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 50, 19:59 4 Sheets- Sheet 1 nap- I BY f $4 49 A. A. KUCHER REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 30, 1939 June 15, 1943.

'4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J1me 1943- A. A. KUCHER 2,321,638

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 30, 1939 4 Sheets-Shget 5 INVENTOR June 15, 1943. KUCHER 2,321,688

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS I Original Filed Oct. 50, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FJTQE I'NVENTOR.

Patented June 15, 1943 R-EFRIGERATING APPARATUS Andrew A. Kucher, Oakwood, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Original application October 30, 1939, Serial No. 301,865. Divided and this application August 27, 1941, Serial No. 408,501

8 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration and more particularly to a simplified and improved air conditioning unit for use in private homes and the like. Y

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 301,865, filed October 30, 1939.

Notwithstanding the fact that summer air conditioning for private homes is as desirable as winter air conditioning and notwithstanding the fact that a large variety of air conditioning units intended for summer air conditioning have been on the market for many years, very few home owners have been willing to pay the money and put up with the inconvenience necessitated by installation of these units. Besides being complirated and expensive many of the prior systems failed to satisfy the wants of the average person. The inexpensive units have either been incapable f distributing the conditioned air or have been incapable of supplying enough clean conditioned air.

One object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a simple method and apparatus capable of conditioning and distributing an adequate supply of air for private homes and the like.

The average home occupant fully realizes the importan e of fresh air and is accustomed to having windows open during the summer season and is not willing to close the windows and breathe the same air all day long merely for the sake cf hav ng the air cooled.

One object of this invention, therefore, is to provide means for efficiently air conditioning a private home or the like without the necessity of closing all the windows and recirculating a large amount of foul air.

In the design of air conditioning units for use in private. homes or the like it is also very important to keep the cost of the unit down and to provide means for efficiently distributing the conditioned air throughout the house without the necessit of installing expensive air ducts which cannot be installed without messing up the entire house.

It is a further object of this invention, therefore, to provide a low cost air conditioning unit capable of distributing conditioned air to all of the rooms in a private home.

It also frequently happens that prospective purchasers of air conditioning apparatus would be willing to buy conditioning apparatus during a hot spell provided they could obtain immediate relief. Another object, therefore, of this invention is to provide an air conditioning unit capable of conditioning an entire private home and capable of bein installed and ready for use in a day or two.

Another object of this invention is to provide an air conditioning system which is economical to operate.

A further object is to provide an apparatus capable of conditioning and distributing large volumes of fresh unconditioned or conditioned air throughout the house. I i

A further object is to provide an improved control arrangement for a conditioning unit.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional View showing an air conditioning unit embodyin features of this invention installed in the attic of a private home or the like;

Fig. 2 is a similar cross sectional view taken at right angles to the showing in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view partly diagrammatic showing the control system .for the apparatus disclosed in. Figs. land 2; Y I

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view showing th location of the air conditioning unit within the attic space of a typical home;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the d stribution of conditioned air to the second floor rooms of a typical private home installation;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the distribution of the conditioned air to the first I floor rooms of a typical private home;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 1--'l f Fig. 5 showing the distribution of air Within'the home; and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing a debris catching box used while installing the air conditioning apparatus disclosed in this application.

For purposes of illustration I have shown my improved system installed in a typical private home. As shown in Fig. 1 the air conditioning cabinet l0 rests directly on the attic floor over an opening l2 leading to the hall below. The air to be conditioned enters the attic throughan open Window 14 or any other suitable opening leading from the outside to the attic space. I have found that it is not necessary to provide any duct for conveying the air from the window to the cabinet. By not using any air duct for conveying the fresh air' from the window totho cabinet, the cost of the'unit is reduced. Furs thermore. the air flowing through the attic serves to ventilate the attic when no air duct is used. The desirability of attic ventilation depends on a number of factors such as the climatic condition and the house construction. The fresh air from the attic enters the conditioning cabinet ll through inlet opening it provided in one side of the upper compartment ll of the cabinet II. A filter II is disposed directly in the air inlet It to filter the incoming air. The air passing through the filter I! first fiows in thermal exchange relationship with the water coil II and thereafter flows in thermal exchange relationship with the refrigerant evaporator 12 disposed adjacent the water coil II. The cooled air leaving the compartment ll ilows downwardly through the passage 24 into the lower compartment 2' in which is mounted a water-cooled motor-compressor-condenser unit" and a blower ll driven by motor ii. The conditioned air is discharged downwardly by the blower ll through an air duct 34 which discharges the conditioned air against the upper surface of panel member of leaving the doors open.. In the average private home, however, the provision of these additional air passages is not necessary.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a fan unit I located in a bedroom window, and in Fig. 6 I have shown a similar fan in a dining room window. While I v have shown onlytwo fan units II, it is obvious a which is arranged to distribute the air along the secondfloor ceiling.

The air leaving the panel 38 has suillcient velocity to cause it to flow substantially horizontally until it strikes the vertical walls of the hall which are provided with door openings leading room but for best results one or more of the win-- ,dows should be opened. In Fig. 5 I have illustrated the flow of conditioned air through the bedrooms while these rooms are being conditioned. The amount of conditioned air entering each room may be controlled either by the amount the windows are opened or by controlling the amount which the bedroom door is opened. Thus, a room which is not in use and requires .no conditioning may be closed ofi merely by closing the hall door leading thereto. As shown in Fig. 5, a portion of the conditioned air entering the second floor hall 65 is distributed to the second floor rooms through the doors .6, 61, 68, 69 and i0 and another portion of the air flows downwardly through the stairway 12 to the first floor hall 14 which, for purposes of illustration, has been shown as having an opening 18 leading to the living room 18 and another doorway 80 through which conditioned air is free to flow into the breakfast room 02, the kitchen '4 and the dining room It. In the usual home, a doorway such as ll leads from the living room to the dining room whereby some of the living room air is free tothe dining room through to the adjacent rooms so as to avoid the necessity that more or these units may be provided if, for any reason, difllculty is experienced in getting a sumcient volume of conditioned air into any of the rooms. These ian units are also convenient for windy days when the opening of the window would normally cause the relatively hot outdoor air to blow into the room.

In Fig. '7 I have shown a vertical sectional view of the home shown in Figs. 5 and 6. As shown in Fig. 7, outdoor air enters the attic space through the window it, is picked up by the conditioning unit III in which the air is cooled, and is thereafter discharged into the second fioor hall ll from whence part of the air fiows into the adjoining bedrooms and the remainder of the air flows through the stairway 12 into the first floor hall from whence the air circulates into the various downstairs rooms. a

While this unit is intended primarily to condition fresh air only, it is apparent that it is capable of conditioning recirculated air also. As shown in Fig. 4, it would be possible to close the attic windows It and to open the attic door 92 whereby air from the. second floor hall would be allowed to flow into the attic. Certain of the advantages of applicant's system would, however,-

be lost if the door leading to the attic were left open so as to cause air from the conditioned space to be recirculated. By virtue of applicant's improved system the supply of conditioned air to any one room may be discontinued by closing the door leading to the room. The closing of the door, however, does not prevent airing the room by opening the windows.

Inasmuch as all of the air being conditioned is fresh air, the same amount of conditioned air provides for greater comfort for a given cost than with the systems in which the air is recirculated.

As shown in Fig. 1, the air to be conditioned first flows in thermal exchange relationship with the water coil 20 and thereafter flows in thermal exchange relationship with the evaporator coil 22. Water is supplied to the water coil 20 through the water line 60 which may be connected to city mains or any other source of cold water. The flow of water in the line 60 is controlled by the valve 94, the operation of which will be described more fully hereinafter. The water leaving the coil 20 will be a number of degrees warmer than the water entering the coil but is still suiliciently cold so that it may be used in condensing the refrigerant in the refrigerating system. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the water leaving the coil 20 is supplied to the motor-compressor-condenser unit 28 through the pipe 96. The water flowing through the motor-compressorcondenser unit 28 serves to cool the same and serves to condense the refrigerant in the wellknown manner. The water leaves the compressor through the discharge line 98 which may be connected to any convenient form of drain or to a lawn sprinkler system.

As shown in Fig. 2, the condensate collecting I on the cooling coils 20 and 22 collects in the drip pan I00 which is provided with a drain I02 which, for purposes of illustration, has been shown as connected to the main drain pipe 98. The refrigerant which is vaporized in the evaporator 22 flows to the compressor through the low side. vapor line 104. The compressed refrigerant lscondensed within the motor-compressorcondenser unit 28 which also serves as a receiver for the liquid refrigerant. The liquid refrigerant leaving the receiver passes through a restrictor I06 on its way to the evaporator 22. The refrigerating system is placed in operation by plugging in the electric cord H0. A manual switch H2 is provided for starting and stopping the entire unit. Upon closing of the switch H2, the air circulating fan 30 is placed in operation and continues to operate as long as current is supplied to the fan motor 32. motor is under control of the outside thermostat H4 which operates the switch H6 leading to the compressor 28 and the solenoid H8 which controls the valve 94. The thermostat H4 may The compressor be a dry bulb thermostat, a wet bulb thermostat or a combination of both, such as an effective temperature thermostat, and is designed to close the switch H6 whenever the condition of the outside air requires conditioning before being discharged into the enclosure. Inasmuch as there may be times when it would not be necessary to further cool the incoming air even though the outdoor air is slightly higher than the desired indoor temperature, I have provided an indoor thermostat I for starting and stopping the refrigerating system 28 in response to the indoor conditions. The thermostat I20 is effective only when the main switch H6 is closed and is never effective for controlling the cooling of the air by the water coil 20. The thermostat |20 may be a dry bulb thermostat, a wet bulb thermostat or a combination of both such as an effective temperature thermostat. Energization of the solenoid H8 is controlled directly by the outdoor temperature controlled switch H6 and the manual switch H9 so that Whenever the outdoor air temperature exceeds the desired indoor air temperature and the manual switch H9 is cl0sed,the valve 94 is held open whereby cooling water flows through the cooling coil 20. .By virtue of this arrangement, the hot outdoor air is permitted to enter the conditioned space without first being cooled at such times when the condition of the indoor air is such that the refrigerating system is not operating. 7

The valve 94 is further under control of the bellows I22 which is operated in response to the head pressure within the motor-compressor-condenser unit 28. When the switch H9 i open the bellows I22 exercises sole control of the valve I22 and when the switch H9 is closed a high pressure in the bellows I22 causes the valve to open further than normally opened by the solenoid H8. The valve stem 95 is normally biased closed by the spring 91. The cabinet I0 is mounted on a rubber gasket or the like 38 which prevents the transmission of noise from the conditioning unit to the floor structure. The baflie 36 is mounted below the opening l2 by means of bolts 40 which depend from the plate 42 which frames the opening I2 and rests on the upper surface of the attic fioor. By virtue of the above described arrangement, the entire unit may be installed merely by cutting the hole through the attic floor and the hall ceiling and mounting the panel in place. Normally, in cutting holes through plaster, it is very difficult to prevent plaster from getting onto the floors and being tracked around the house. In order to avoid scattering the plaster while installing my unit, I have devised a debris catching box 50 (see Fig. 8) which is supported adjacent the ceiling by a telescoping shaft arrangement 52 projecting upwardly from base 54. The box is adjustably held in the elevated position by means of the thumb screw 56 during the entire cutting operation which takes place from the attic side. With such an arrangement, all of the plaster, lath, pieces of flooring, etc., is caught in the box 50 and no dust or plaster is permitted to fall to the floor below. The upp r walls of the receptacle 50 are provided with a gasket 58 which engages the ceiling in a dust-proof manner. After the hole in the attic floor and the hall ceiling has been made and the dust has had a chance to collect in the receptacle 50, the receptacle 50 is removed and the ceiling panel 36 is inserted in place. This entire operation requires very little time and is done without scattering any plaster or the like onto the floors.

By virtue of the above described simplified methods and apparatus, an .ample supply of conditioned fresh air is at all times available in all sections of the house. Furthermore, the apparatus is inexpensive, quick to install, and economical to operate.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A self-contained refrigerating system adapted to be supported by the ceiling of an enclosure to be conditioned comprising in combination, a cabinet supported on the upper side of said ceiling and having an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening, means for directing the air leaving said outlet opening downwardly into the enclosure to be conditioned, an evaporator in said casing, a sealed motor-compressor-condenser unit in said casing connected in refrigerant fiow relationship to said evaporator, means for flowing condenser cooling water in thermal exchange relationship with said motor-compressor-condenser unit, and blower means for passing air in thermal exchange relationship with said evaporator and thereafter in thermal exchange relationship with said motor-compressor-condenser unit so as to partially reheat said air before discharging the air through said outlet.

2. A self-contained air conditioning unit adapted to condition fresh air only comprising in combination, a cabinet having a fresh air inlet, a water coil adjacent said inlet for precooling the incoming air, a volatile refrigerant evaporator in said cabinet for further cooling said air and for removing moisture from said air, a sealed motor-compressor-conderisei unit in said cabinet in refrigerant flow relationship to said evaporator, means for flowing water through said water coil and thereafter in thermal exchange relationship with said motor-compressor-condenserunit, and blower means in said cabinet for blowing the air to be conditioned through said cabinet and into the space to be conditioned, said motor-comp'ressor-condenser unit being arranged in the path of the air leaving said evaporator so as to partially reheat the air cooled by said water coil and said evaporator.

3. A self-contained air conditioning unit adapted to condition fresh air only comprising in combination, a cabinet having a fresh air inlet, a water coil adjacent said inlet for precoolthrough said water coil and thereafter in thertor in said cabinet for further cooling said air and for removing moisture from said air, a sealed motor-compressor-condenser unit in said cabinet in refrigerant flow relationship to said evaporator, means for flowing water through said water coil and thereafter in thermal exchange .relationship with said motor-compressor-condenser unit, blower means in said'cabinet for blowing the air to be conditioned through said cabinet and into the space to be conditioned, and means responsive jointly to the air temperature and the refrigerant pressure controlling the flow of water through aid water coil.

5. A self-contained air conditioning unit adapted to condition fresh air only comprising in combination, a cabinet having a fresh air inlet, a water coil adjacent said inlet for precooling the incoming air, a volatile refrigerant evaporator in said cabinet for further cooling said air and for removing moisture from said air, a sealed motor-compressor-condenser unit in said cabinet in refrigerant flow relationship to said evaporator, means for flowing water through said water coil and thereafter in thermal exchange relationship with said motor-compressor-condenser unit, blower means in said cabinet for blowing the air to be conditioned through said cabinet and into the space to be conditioned,- said motorcompressor-condenser unit being arranged in the path of the air leaving said evaporator so as to partially reheat the air cooled by said water coil and said evaporator, means responsive to the ing the incoming air, a volatile refrigerantincoming air, a volatile refrigerant evaporator in said cabinet for further cooling said air and for removing moisture from said air, a sealed motorcompressor-condenser unit in said cabinet in refrigerant flow relationship to said evaporator.

means for flowing water through said water coil and thereafter in thermal exchange relationship with said motor-compressor-condenser unit, means including a blower in said cabinet for causing the air to be conditioned to flow through said cabinet and downwardly into the space to be conditioned, and a fixed restrictor controlling the flow of refrigerant to said evaporator.

'I. A self-contained air conditioning unit adapted to condition fresh air only comprising in combination, a cabinet having a fresh air inlet,

a water coil adjacent said inlet for precooling the .incoming air, a volatile refrigerant evaporator in said cabinet for further cooling said air and for removing moisture from said air, a sealed motor-compressor-condenser unit in said cabinet in refrigerant flow relationship to said evaporator, means for flowing water through said water coil and thereafter in thermal exchange relationship with said motor-compressor-condenser unit, means including a blower in said cabinet for causing the air to be conditioned to flow through said cabinet and downwardly into the space to be conditioned, and means responsive to changes in the temperature of the incoming fresh air for controlling the flow of refrigerant to said evaporator.

8. An all fresh air cooling unit adapted to be supported above the ceiling of an enclosure to be conditioned comprising in combination, a cabinet resting on the upper side of said ceiling and having an evaporator compartment and a refrigerant liquefying compartment, an evaporator in said evaporator compartment, a water coil in said evaporator compartment, refrigerant liquefying means in said refrigerant liquefying compartment for supplying liquid refrigerant to said evaporator, said refrigerant liquefying means comprising a sealed rotary motor-compressor condenser unit including a water coil for condensing the compressed refrigerant within said sealed unit; said cabinet having an air-inlet and an air outlet, means for conveying fresh air only to said unit, means for flowing the incoming fresh- 

